New Releases by Jan Thornhill

“The content encourages us to reflect upon and evaluate the relationship between human beings and animals. This book leaves us with admiration for this feisty bird and hope for our world.” — Friends Journal Behold the most despised bird in human history! So begins Jan Thornhill’s riveting, beautifully illustrated story of the House Sparrow. She traces the history of this perky little bird, one of the most adaptable creatures on Earth, from its beginnings in the Middle East to its spread with the growth of agriculture into India, North Africa and Europe. Everywhere the House Sparrow went, it competed with humans for grain, becoming such a pest that in some places “sparrow catcher” became an actual job and bounties were paid to those who got rid of it. But not everyone hated the House Sparrow, and in 1852, fifty pairs were released in New York City. In no time at all, the bird had spread from coast to coast. Then suddenly, at the turn of the century, as cars took over from horses and there was less grain to be found, its numbers began to decline. As our homes, gardens, cities and farmland have changed, providing fewer nesting and feeding opportunities, the House Sparrow’s numbers have begun to decline again — though in England and Holland this decline appears to be slowing. Perhaps this clever little bird is simply adapting once more. This fascinating book includes the life history of the House Sparrow and descriptions of how the Ancient Egyptians fed it to the animals they later mummified, how it traveled to Great Britain as a stowaway on ships carrying Roman soldiers, and how its cousin, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, was almost eradicated in China when Mao declared war on it. A wealth of back matter material is also supplied. Key Text Features map glossary references resources further information Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

Caio precisa fazer cocô e não quer ir sozinho! Os bichos-preguiça vivem lá no alto das árvores da floresta tropical e nunca, têm que descer... a não ser quando precisam ir ao banheiro. E caio precisa. Sua mãe diz que ele já consegue ir sozinho, mas caio não tem certeza de que esteja preparado para isso. o chão da floresta fica bem, bem, bem lá embaixo, e ele não quer ir sozinho de jeito nenhum! Acompanhe a aventura dessa corajosa preguicinha, que enfrenta seus medos e desce beeeeem devagar até o chão da floresta para fazer cocô.

Meet Josephine: she''s a little girl, a big sister and a human being. She''s also a mammal, an animal and a living thing-all identities she explores in this simple but informative picture book that provides a fabulous introduction to classification. Inspired by science and nature writer Jan Thornhill''s many school visits, this book is intended to help children recognise themselves as part of the natural world, with an emphasis on how all living things share similarities. Beautiful illustrations in vibrant colors combined with minimal text make this an easy introduction to the classification of living things. Endmatter goes into further detail about the unique characteristics of humans, mammals, animals and living things.

For hundreds of thousands of years, Great Auks thrived. And then they were gone ... For hundreds of thousands of years Great Auks thrived in the icy seas of the North Atlantic, bobbing on the waves, diving for fish and struggling up onto rocky shores to mate and hatch their fluffy chicks. But by 1844, not a single one of these magnificent birds was alive. In this stunningly illustrated non-fiction picture book, award-winning author and illustrator Jan Thornhill tells the tragic story of these birds that “weighed as much as a sack of potatoes and stood as tall as a preteen’s waist.” Their demise came about in part because of their anatomy. They could swim swiftly underwater, but their small wings meant they couldn’t fly and their feet were so far back on their bodies, they couldn’t walk very well. Still the birds managed to escape their predators much of the time ... until humans became seafarers. Great Auks were pursued first by Vikings, then by Inuit, Beothuk and finally European hunters. Their numbers rapidly dwindled. They became collectors’ items — their skins were stuffed for museums, to be displayed along with their beautiful eggs. (There are some amazing stories about these stuffed auks — one was stolen from a German museum during WWII by Russian soldiers; another was flown to Iceland and given a red-carpet welcome at the airport.) Although undeniably tragic, the final demise of the Great Auk led to the birth of the conservation movement. Laws were eventually passed to prevent the killing of birds during the nesting season, and similar laws were later extended to other wildlife species. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.

When Kyle the sloth has to go to the bathroom, he must make the long trip down to the forest floor all alone, but soon finds lots of friends along his journey.

When Lily, a young snowshoe hare, hears that winter is coming, she does not know what to expect, even as the other animals explain what they do to cope with the change of seasons, although, they note, snowshoe hares do not need to do the same.

A complete guide to every aspect of the food we eat

Facts about everything from how food fuels us to how what we eat impacts our world.

Examines such questions as why global warming''s a problem, how we know the Earth is warming up, how climate change will affect us, and how we can stop it from getting worse.

Explores the cycle of life and death, and how the process is necessary in nature, while also commenting on how death effects people personally, and the skills they use to cope with such a trauma when it occurs.

A collection of animal legends and folktales from around the world.

Uses vibrant paintings to demonstrate the subtle changes that occur over spans of time ranging from a few seconds to a year in a coral reef, the African savannah, a North American wetlands, a North American meadow, an Australian forest, a South American rain forest, and a city school yard. Illustrated borders identify the wildlife found in each painting while factual notes describe the changes.

Jan Thornhill uses vibrant art to introduce the "nature timescape" to children, depicting from picture to picture how natural scenes change over spans of time ranging from a few seconds to a year. The environments--a tropical coral reef, an African savannah, a meadow in North America, and the South American rain forest--will delight children as they point out what has changed from scene to scene in the before and after pictures. Age 4 and up.

Two innovative books to help youngsters learn the alphabet and their numbers. Each letter and number is individually and clearly presented and is accompanied by its own vibrant and richly textured illustration, full of captivating details. Full color.

Presents the life story of a 200-year-old maple tree.

A nature counting book.

Every letter in the alphabet is linked to a creature in nature.